• Home
• Study
• Study Information
• Modules
• Module Information

Current Themes in the Sociology of Sport

Module description

Sport occupies a dominant role in contemporary society. It mediates social encounters, is harnessed in social enterprise, and is a powerful part of the economy. Traditional notions of sport have been disrupted in recent decades. Race, gender, and sexuality have moved to the forefront of debate alongside issues of inclusion and equity. Increasingly sport is a forum in which social issues are showcased and explored. Technological innovation and the quantitative-self movement contribute to a host of new sporting subjectivities explored and performed through social media. The promotion of elaborate sporting Mega Events in global cities sits alongside the discourse of polluted leisure and sustainable sport in the Anthropocene. These topics are explored alongside the growth in lifestyle sports, the ‘sports for good’ movement, the bond between sport and religion, and the calculated risk taking of edgework.

Module aims - intentions of the module

The module aims to provide students with a foundation in the key tropes of the ‘sociology of sport’ discussion and an in-depth knowledge on contemporary sociological sport issues’ It aims to immerse students in the most contemporary debates in which sports intersects and captures social trends. The course therefore provides a critical local engagement in sport as a feature of global media culture and local community engagement in the 21^st century.

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

ILO: Module-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 1. Demonstrate broad knowledge and critical understanding of a range of contemporary sport issues
• 2. Digest and critically evaluate specific themes in contemporary sport discussion in light of sociological research and academic debate
• 3. Research and apply key sociological concepts such as ‘Mega-Events’, ‘Lifestyle Sports’, ‘Sports for Good’, ‘Polluted Leisure’ and ‘Edgework’

ILO: Discipline-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 4. Demonstrate in writing and orally an ability to articulate, apply and criticise theoretical models and empirical findings
• 5. Demonstrate in writing and orally how the sociology of sport can help examine taken-for-granted assumptions about social roles and behaviours.

ILO: Personal and key skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 6. Demonstrate an ability to engage in complex arguments in writing, orally and in small groups
• 7. Demonstrate an ability to identify problems and anticipate possible avenues for solving them
• 8. Demonstrate an ability to digest, apply and recognise academic themes in mass media and popular culture discourse

Syllabus plan

Whilst the module’s precise content may vary from year to year, it is envisaged that the syllabus will cover some or all of the following topics:

• History of the Sociology of Sport
• Mega-Events
• Olympic Model
• Community Sport
• Health and Wellbeing
• Disability and Adaptive Sport
• Lifestyle Sports
• Edgework
• Gender and Sexual Identity in Sport
• Race and Ethnicity in Sport
• Sport as Religion
• Sport for Good, NGO’s, and Policy
• Polluted Leisure
• The Quantitative Self Movement

Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)

Details of learning activities and teaching methods

Formative assessment

Summative assessment (% of credit)

Details of summative assessment

Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)

Re-assessment notes

Deferral – if you miss an assessment for certificated reasons judged acceptable by the Mitigation Committee, you will normally be either deferred in the assessment or an extension may be granted. The mark given for a re-assessment taken as a result of deferral will not be capped and will be treated as it would be if it were your first attempt at the assessment. 

Referral – if you have failed the module overall (i.e. a final overall module mark of less than 40%) you will be required to redo the assessment(s) as defined above. If you are successful on referral, your overall module mark will be capped at 40%. 

Indicative learning resources - Basic reading

• Boykoff, J. & Carrington, B. 2019. Sporting dissent: Colin Kaepernick, NFL activism, and media framing contests. International Review for the Sociology of Sport, 55, 829-849.
• Bridges, B. 2016. Booing the National Anthem: Hong Kong’s Identities through the Mirror of Sport. Contemporary Chinese Political Economy and Strategic Relations: An International Journal, 2, 819-843.
• Britton, E. & Foley, R. 2020. Sensing Water: Uncovering Health and Well-Being in the Sea and Surf. Journal of Sport and Social Issues, 45, 60-87.
• Carrington, B. 2002. ‘Race’, Representation and the Sporting Body*. CUCR’s Occasional Paper Series 1-38.
• Carrington, B. & Mcdonald, I. 2001. Introduction: ‘Race’, Sport and British Society. In: CARRINGTON, B. & MCDONALD, I. (eds.) ‘Race’, Sport and British Society. London: Routledge.
• Coakley, J. 2011. Youth sports: What counts as “positive development”. Journal of Sport and Social Issues, 35, 306-324.
• Coakley, J. 2017. Sports in Society: Issues and Controversies, New York, McGraw Hill Education.
• Evers, C. 2019. Polluted Leisure. Leisure Sciences, 41, 423-440.
• Geckle, B. S. 2021. Queer world-making: Destabilizing heteronormativity through skateboarding. PhD, University of Otago.
• Hartmann, D. 2016. Midnight Basketball: Race, Sports, and Neoliberal Social Policy, Chicago, University of Chicago Press.
• Lupton, D. 2016. The quantified self, Cambridge, Polity Press.
• Lyng, S. 2005. Edgework : the sociology of risk-taking. New York : Routledge.
• Martínková, I., Andrieu, B. & Parry, J. 2022. Slow Sport and Slow Philosophy: Practices Suitable (Not Only) for Lockdowns. Sport, Ethics and Philosophy, 16, 159-164.
• O'Connor, P. 2020. Skateboarding and Religion, Cham, Switzerland, Palgrave.
• Ratna, A. & Sami, S. F. 2018. Introduction: Sport, race, and gender - the polictics ot ethnic ‘Other’ girls and women. In: AARTI RATNA & SAMI, S. F. (eds.) Sport, race, and gender - the polictics ot ethnic ‘Other’ girls and women. London: Routledge.
• Spaaij, R. 2009. Sport as a Vehicle for Social Mobility and Regulation of Disadvantaged Urban Youth. International Review for the Sociology of Sport, 44, 247-264.
• Thorpe, H. 2014. Action sports for youth development: critical insights for the SDP community. International Journal of Sport Policy and Politics, 8, 91-116.
• Thorpe, H. & Chawansky, M. 2017. The Gendered Experiences of Women Staff and Volunteers in Sport for Development Organizations: The Case of Transmigrant Workers of Skateistan. Journal of Sport Management, 31, 546-561.
• Thorpe, H. & Olive, R. 2016. Women in action sport cultures: Identity, politics and experience, London, Palgrave Macmillan.
• Wenner, L. A. & Billings, A. C. 2017. Sport, media and mega-events, London, Routledge.
• Wheaton, B. 2013. The cultural politics of lifestyle sports, New York, Routledge.

Key words search

Sport, Mega-events, Lifestyle sport, polluted leisure